COMPARISON OF LASER-ASSISTED UVULOPALATOPHARYNGOPLASTY TO ELECTROCAUTERY-ASSISTED UVULOPALATOPHARYNGOPLASTY - A CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION IN AN ANIMAL-MODEL

Objective: To determine if there are any pathologic or technical diffe rences between laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (LAUP) and ele ctrocautery-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (EAUP). Design: A prosp ective randomized in vivo trial in an appropriate animal species, Resu lts: We found no gross difference in healing between the palates treat ed with laser and those treated with high-frequency electrocautery. Ho wever, there was consistently more thermal damage noted histologically in the hemipalates treated with LAUP. Oil the other hand, EAUP was fa ster to perform, more hemostatic, associated with less char formation, and had less histologic evidence of thermal damage. Conclusions: Thes e results raise the possibility that the beneficial effects of LAUP ov er traditional uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) may be as a consequenc e of staging rather than the particular treatment modality used.